Anniversary of the Jupiter 2 Blasting Off (10-16-97)

 

Where were you on October 16, 1997? Do you remember? That was the day that the Jupiter 2, with Major Don West as the pilot and the Robinson Family as the passengers, blasted off on their way to Alpha Centauri. Less than 48 hours after they left Earth's atmosphere Mission Control lost communication with them, and they became Lost in Space.

The TV series made its debut in 1965 and ran for only three years. Still, it is a fondly remembered bit of nostalgia from the "fun" Sixties, perpetually re-run in syndication (where I eventually saw it).

 

Lost in Space also spawned a few comic-book series, although one, "Space Family Robinson," actually began before the TV series. When Irwin Allen created the series, his production company reached an agreement with Gold Key comics, and "Space Family Robinson" became "Lost in Space." This confused the heck out of me as a kid, because the Robinsons in this comic are NOT the Robinsons from the TV series! I tried it a few times, but could never get past that huge difference.

Many years later, Bill Mumy himself ("Will Robinson" from the TV series) wrote a series of comic-books about his TV family. This was published by Innovation. His opus, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Soul featured art by Michael Dutkiewicz. The story was a serious take on the Robinsons and featured the wedding of Judy and Don, along with various other events. It is very well done and in lieu of any real closure to the TV series the closest we will ever get to seeing whatever happened to the Robinsons and Dr. Smith. 

If you can find a copy of this book I enthusiastically recommend it! In the meantime, here is a video montage of some wild Lost in Space scenes. It really was like a comic-book come to life!